After 13 years, the sequel to “Avatar: The Way of Water”, “Avatar: The Way of Water”, comes to theaters in December, and director James Cameron is already defending the possibility of the film being shown for three hours.
Cameron, who directed other songs like “Terminator,” “Aliens” and “Titanic,” compared them to binge-watching TV in
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“I don’t want anyone to grumble about height when they sit down and indulge in watching [television] For eight hours,” Cameron said Empire Magazine. “I could almost write this part of the review.” The agonizing three-hour movie… “It’s like, give me a break.”
“I’ve watched my kids sit and do five one-hour episodes in a row,” he added. “This is the big social shift that has to happen: It’s okay to get up and pee.”
Recorded at 2 hours 42 minutes, “Avatar” is the world’s highest-grossing film (before inflation adjusted) with $2.8 billion at the global box office.
“Avatar” briefly lost that title after being overtaken by “Avengers: Endgame” in 2019, but regained it after being re-released in China last year, bringing in an additional $57 million. Disney will release the film again worldwide in September before releasing the sequel in December.
The long running time does not necessarily affect the film’s chances at the box office. Cameron knows it better than most: “Titanic,” over three hours in length, was the No. 3 highest-grossing film of all time but held the number one spot for 12 years until “Avatar” was released in 2009.
Recently, The Batman movie, which only lasted three hours, earned more than 700 million dollars worldwide.
Theatrical industry directors are pinning high hopes on “The Way of Water,” which ends the year strong at the box office. Cameron makes the movie in many different formats, from Imax to 3D, playing at high frame rates and high dynamic range.
“It shows the wide range of technology and visual experiences you can get in movie theaters that you can’t get at home,” John Fethian, CEO of the National Association of Theater Owners, told Insider earlier this year. “That’s part of our comeback story, too.”
“The Way of Water” is the first of four “Avatar” sequels planned to be released this year, 2024, 2026 and 2028.
